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The Full Story
Strengthen The Family Group Conference
Family Group Conferences were created to change the way decisions are made about tamariki and rangatahi. They shifted power away from professionals making decisions behind closed doors and placed whānau, hapū, iwi, victims and communities at the centre of the process.
The Family Group Conference is not simply a meeting or an administrative step. It is a statutory process that supports whānau-led decision-making, accountability, restoration, safety and practical planning. It recognises that tamariki and rangatahi cannot be separated from their whakapapa, identity, whānau and community.
The FGC was once described as the “jewel in the crown” of Aotearoa New Zealand’s care, protection and youth justice systems. However, over time, the process has been weakened by inadequate preparation, increasing workloads, inconsistent practice, limited resources, insufficient training and a lack of support for the plans agreed at conferences. The specialist roles of FGC Coordinators have also lost recognition, independence and professional standing.
NUPE’s campaign calls for the mana and integrity of the Family Group Conference to be restored.
We are seeking a full national review of FGC practice across care and protection, youth justice and transitions to adulthood. This must include the people who carry the process every day: Coordinators, Team Leaders, whānau, rangatahi, hapū, iwi and community partners.
Our campaign calls for:
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Proper recognition and remuneration of Coordinators and FGC Team Leaders
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Safe workloads, sufficient staffing, backfill and administrative support
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Nationally consistent induction, training, supervision and professional development
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Stronger cultural support and meaningful hapū and iwi participation
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Protected time and resources for preparation, whakapapa searching and whānau engagement
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Ring-fenced funding so that FGC plans are practical and can actually be delivered
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Strong and consistent national leadership while protecting local relationships
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A national Coordinator and Team Leader hui to help shape the future of the FGC
The FGC was a bold response to injustice and remains one of the strongest tools available to support tamariki, rangatahi and whānau. It does not need to be replaced. It needs to be protected, properly resourced and strengthened.
As the 40th anniversary of the Family Group Conference approaches in 2029, now is the time to reclaim the jewel in the crown.
Ko te tamaiti te pūtake o te kaupapa.
Ko te whānau te puna o te oranga.
Ko te Kaiwhakahaere te poutokomanawa o te hui.
Let us use the principles of the Family Group Conference to restore the Family Group Conference.
Pūao-te-Ata-tū
Pūao-te-Ata-tū, released in 1988, was a landmark report that exposed institutional racism within New Zealand’s social welfare system and the harm caused when Māori children were separated from their whānau, whakapapa, hapū and iwi. It challenged the State’s reliance on professional and institutional decision-making and called for Māori values, cultural knowledge and whānau participation to be placed at the centre of social-service delivery. Its recommendations helped drive a major shift toward community-based services, partnership with iwi and Māori organisations, and recognition that the wellbeing of tamariki cannot be separated from the wellbeing of their whānau.
This thinking directly informed the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989 and the creation of the Family Group Conference. The FGC was designed to transfer decision-making power from the State back to families and whānau, allowing them to participate meaningfully in decisions about the safety, care and accountability of their tamariki and rangatahi. It became a world-leading model of collective and whānau-led decision-making, giving practical expression to the principles of whakapapa, whanaungatanga, manaakitanga and tino rangatiratanga.
ITS IN THE ACT
The significance of the Family Group Conference is reflected in the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989, where the term is referred to hundreds of times across the care and protection and youth justice provisions. This is because the FGC is not simply a meeting or an optional practice tool—it is a central statutory decision-making process. The Act sets out who must attend, how conferences are convened, the responsibilities of Coordinators, how tamariki, rangatahi, whānau and victims participate, and how decisions, recommendations and plans are agreed, recorded and reviewed. Its extensive presence throughout the Act demonstrates that the FGC is foundational to the system and that the Coordinator’s role is essential to protecting the fairness, independence, cultural integrity and statutory integrity of the process.
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